Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to ultrapure synthetic carbon materials, methods for making the same and devices containing the same.
Description of the Related Art
Activated carbon is commonly employed in electrical storage and distribution devices. The high surface area, conductivity and porosity of activated carbon allows for the design of electrical devices having higher energy density than devices employing other materials. Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) are an example of such devices. EDLCs often have electrodes prepared from an activated carbon material and a suitable electrolyte, and have an extremely high energy density compared to more common capacitors. Typical uses for EDLCs include energy storage and distribution in devices requiring short bursts of power for data transmissions, or peak-power functions such as wireless modems, mobile phones, digital cameras and other hand-held electronic devices. EDLCs are also commonly use in electric vehicles such as electric cars, trains, buses and the like.
Batteries are another common energy storage and distribution device which often contain an activated carbon material (e.g., as anode material, current collector, or conductivity enhancer). For example, lithium/carbon batteries having a carbonaceous anode intercalated with lithium represent a promising energy storage device. Other types of carbon-containing batteries include lithium air batteries, which use porous carbon as the current collector for the air electrode, and lead acid batteries which often include carbon additives in either the anode or cathode. Batteries are employed in any number of electronic devices requiring low current density electrical power (as compared to an EDLC's high current density).
One known limitation of EDLCs and carbon-based batteries is decreased performance at high-temperature, high voltage operation, repeated charge/discharge cycles and/or upon aging. This decreased performance has been attributed to electrolyte impurity or impurities in the carbon electrode itself, causing breakdown of the electrode at the electrolyte/electrode interface. Thus, it has been suggested that EDLCs and/or batteries comprising electrodes prepared from higher purity carbon materials could be operated at higher voltages and for longer periods of time at higher temperatures than existing devices.
Although the need for higher purity carbon materials having both high surface area and high porosity has been recognized, such carbon material is not commercially available and no reported preparation method is capable of yielding the high purity carbon desired for high performance electrical devices. One common method for producing high surface area activated carbon materials is to pyrolyze an existing carbon-containing material (e.g., coconut fibers or tire rubber). This results in a char with relatively low surface area which can subsequently be over-activated to produce a material with the surface area and porosity necessary for the desired application. Such an approach is inherently limited by the existing structure of the precursor material, and typically results in low process yields and a carbon material having an ash content (i.e., metal impurities) of 1% or higher.
Activated carbon materials can also be prepared by chemical activation. For example, treatment of a carbon-containing material with an acid, base or salt (e.g., phosphoric acid, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, zinc chloride, etc.) followed by heating results in an activated carbon material. However, such chemical activation produces activated carbon materials with a high level of residual process impurities (e.g., metals).
Another approach for producing high surface area activated carbon materials is to prepare a synthetic polymer from carbon-containing organic building blocks (e.g., a ultrapure polymer gel). As with the existing organic materials, the synthetically prepared polymers are pyrolyzed and activated to produce an activated carbon material. In contrast to the traditional approach described above, the intrinsic porosity of the synthetically prepared polymer results in higher process yields because less material is lost during the activation step. However, as with carbon materials prepared from other known methods, activated carbon materials prepared from synthetic polymers via reported methods contain unsuitable levels of impurities (e.g., metals).
While significant advances have been made in the field, there continues to be a need in the art for highly pure carbon materials, as well as for methods of making the same and devices containing the same. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.